2001-02 IHSAA Wrestling State Tournament Series
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2001-02 IHSAA Wrestling State Tournament Series State Finals Summary Individual State Finals The fans came out in huge numbers to witness the excitement of the 64th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling Championships on February 15-16, 2002 at Conseco Fieldhouse and the wealth was spread amongst a number of teams. Six individuals returned to repeat as state champions during the weekend’s festivities. Griffith’s Alex Tsirtsis at 130; Warren Central’s Danny Williams at 140; Evansville Mater Dei’s Blake Maurer at 145; Michael Escobedo of Lake Central at 152; Nathan Moore of Perry Meridian at 189 and; Jake O’Brien of Franklin Central at 215. Though Evansville Mater Dei landed four individuals in the finals, Maurer was the lone to win a title for the seven-time defending team state champions. Maurer enters next weekend’s team state finals at 44-1 after winning the 130 pound division as a freshman last year. Williams, the 135 pound champ in 2001, overcame a broken leg he suffered in December to win his weight class. Escobedo, the 145 champ in 2001, finished 50-0 this year for a two-year record of 93-0. Moore (50-0) and O’Brien (38-4) both repeated in the same weight classes. Moore, a senior, went 98-1 over the last two seasons. Both Griffith and Whiteland managed two champions each. Angel Escobedo in the 112 pound class joined Tsirtsis to give Griffith a pair of champions, while Clint Palmore at 119 and Chris Cooper at 160 represented Whiteland. Tsirtsis (59-0), a sophomore, followed up last year’s championship with an 11-3 victory over Brian Tun of Fort Wayne Wayne in this year’s final round. Tsirtsis was the 119 pound winner in 2001 and owns a two-year record of 116-0. Angel Escobedo finished a remarkable freshman campaign by finishing 58-0 following his 13-2 decision over Evansville Mater Dei’s Craig Macke, the runner-up at 103 last year. Griffith had a third representative in the championship round as Jose Escobedo finished as the runner-up at 103 pounds. Cooper (47-0) edged Daniel Bedoy of Hammond Bishop Noll, 2-1, for the 160 pound crown to join his teammate on the top step of the podium. After a sixth place finish in the same weight class a year ago, Palmore (43-3) capped his senior year with the state title taking out Evansville Mater Dei’s Matt Coughlin by a 5-2 count. The winner’s marks in all the classes totaled 639 victories, with only 22 losses. All told, seven wrestlers finished the year undefeated. Those also finishing unbeaten included: Nick Hartman (47-0) of Lawrence North at 103 pounds returned after a third place finish in 2001. Jason Cook (48-0) of Valparaiso at 135 pounds after a runner-up spot at 125 a year ago. Interestingly, four family members wrestled their way into this year’s championship round. Griffith’s Jose and Angel Escobedo, Lake Central’s Michael Escobedo and Hammond Bishop Noll’s Dan Bedoy are all first cousins. Jason Cook of Valparaiso High School, the first place finisher in the 135 pound division, was named recipient of the Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee. Cook became the second wrestler from Valparaiso to capture the award joining Mark Harbold in 1978. The award is presented annually to a senior in the state finals who best demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. The award is named in honor of Mr. Brown, the IHSAA’s fourth commissioner from 1976-83. Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Valparaiso High School in the name of Cook. The tournament drew 307 schools and 6,239 participants at the sectional level. Team State Finals Evansville Mater Dei’s stranglehold on the wrestling state title continued as the Wildcats downed Perry Meridian, 49-12, in the championship match of the Seventh Annual IHSAA Team Wrestling State Finals on February 23, 2002 at Center Grove High School in Greenwood. Mater Dei’s remarkable run of wrestling state titles reached eight (nine overall including 1986) as the Wildcats won 11 of the 14 matches in the championship round. Mater Dei won its first crown of the current streak in 1995 when the title was decided on points at the individual state finals. Mike Goebel, who led the team to a 21-0 finish this season, has been the Mater Dei coach all along. It is the third longest state championship streak in IHSAA sports history and the second longest active run. Carmel’s girls swimming and diving team won its 16th consecutive crown on Feb. 9. Gary Roosevelt won nine straight boys track and field titles from 1981-89. Two-time state champion Blake Maurer, who won the 145 pound state title last week, won all three of his matches on the day including an 8-2 decision over Jason Dibbern of Perry Meridian in the finals. Maurer finished his sophomore year at 47-1. Six of the final round matches resulted in pins, five by Wildcat wrestlers -- Brian Bittner (103); Craig Macke (112); Matt Coughlin (119); Sam Wildeman (160) and; Dustin Beal (171). Perry Meridian’s Zach Pierson also registered a fall at 275 pounds. Mater Dei advanced to the state title match by defeating New Castle, 66-3, in the quarterfinals and Bellmont, 44-15, in the semifinals. Perry Meridian senior Nathan Moore, the two-time state champion at 189, won all three of his matches, including the first two of the day after moving up to the 215 pound level. He scored the Falcons’ first victory of the championship round (103 was contested last) at his normal class of 189, a 5-0 decision over Scott Lewis of Mater Dei. Perry Meridian, coached by Jim Tonte, was making its second appearance in the state finals in three years as a team and its first journey to the championship round. The Falcons defeated Portage, 40-15, in the quarterfinals and Mishawaka, 35-21, in the semifinals for their berth in the final match. It was the first loss of the year for Perry Meridian, which finished 28-1. 2001-02 Team Wrestling State Champion Evansville Mater Dei High School 2001-02 Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award Jason Cook Valparaiso High School Sectional Centers and Assignments of Schools January 26, 2002 1. Adams Central (6): Adams Central, Bellmont, Bluffton, Norwell, South Adams, Southern Wells. 2. Batesville (4): Batesville, East Central, Greensburg, Milan. 3. Bloomington North (7): Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Edgewood, Mitchell, Owen Valley, Paoli. 4. Brownsburg (5): Avon, Brownsburg, Cascade, Danville, Tri-West Hendricks. 5. Calumet (4): Calumet, Gary Roosevelt, Gary West Side, Griffith. 6. Carroll (F.W.) (5): Carroll (Fort Wayne), Churubusco, Columbia City, Eastside, Garrett. 7. Castle (6): Boonville, Castle, Evans. Harrison, Evans. Memorial, South Spencer, Tecumseh. 8. Crawfordsville (5): Crawfordsville, McCutcheon, North Montgomery, Southmont, Western Boone. 9. Crown Point (5): Boone Grove, Crown Point, Hanover Central, Kankakee Valley, Lowell. 10. Culver Academy (5): Culver Community, Culver Academy, Knox, North Judson, Rochester. 11. Decatur Central (4): Ben Davis, Decatur Central, Indpls. Tech, Speedway. 12. Delta (4): Daleville, Delta, Wes-Del, Yorktown. 13. East Chicago Central (4): East Chicago Central, Hammond Clark, Hammond Bishop Noll, Whiting. 14. East Noble (6): Central Noble, DeKalb, East Noble, Wawasee, West Noble, Westview. 15. Elkhart Memorial (5): Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Jimtown, Northridge. 16. Evansville Central (5): Evans. Bosse, Evans. Central, Evans. Mater Dei, Evans. North, Evans. Reitz. 17. Fort Wayne North Side (4): F.W. Concordia, F.W. Dwenger, F.W. North Side, F.W. Northrop. 18. Fort Wayne Wayne (5): F.W. Elmhurst, F.W. Bishop Luers, F.W. Wayne, Harding, Homestead. 19. Fountain Central (6): Covington, Fountain Central, North Vermillion, Seeger, South Vermillion, Turkey Run. 20. Franklin Central (4): Beech Grove, Franklin Central, Indpls. Manual, Warren Central. 21. Franklin County (5): Connersville, Franklin County, Lawrenceburg, South Dearborn, Union County. 22. Frankton (4): Alexandria, Elwood, Frankton, Tipton. 23. Greencastle (5): Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Putnam, Rockville, South Putnam. 24. Greenfield-Central (4): Greenfield-Central, Hamilton Southeastern, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), New Palestine. 25. Greenwood (6): Brown County, Center Grove, Franklin, Greenwood, Indian Creek, Whiteland. 26. Hagerstown (4): Centerville, Hagerstown, Northeastern, Richmond. 27. Hamilton Heights (4): Hamilton Heights, Noblesville, Sheridan, Westfield. 28. Hammond (4): Gary Mann, Hammond, Hammond Gavit, Hammond Morton. 29. Highland (4): Highland, Lake Central, Merrillville, Munster. 30. Huntington North (5): Blackford, Eastbrook, Huntington North, Southwood, White’s. 31. Indianapolis Cathedral (5): Indpls. Broad Ripple, Indpls. Cathedral, Indpls. Chatard, North Central (Indpls.), Park Tudor. 32. Jay County (4): Jay County, Randolph Southern, Union City, Winchester. 33. Jeffersonville (7): Charlestown, Corydon, Eastern (Pekin), Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, New Albany, Providence. 34. Jennings County (7): Jennings County, Madison, New Washington, Salem, Scottsburg, Seymour, Southwestern (Hanover). 35. Lafayette Jefferson (4): Harrison (W.Laf.), Lafayette Central Catholic, Lafayette Jefferson, West Lafayette. 36. Lakeland (5): Angola, Fremont, Howe Military, Lakeland, Prairie Heights. 37. Lake Station Edison (6): Andrean, Gary Wallace, Gary Wirt, Hobart, Lake Station Edison, River Forest. 38. LaPorte (4): Glenn, LaPorte, LaVille, New Prairie. 39. Lawrence Central (5): Ind. School for Blind, Ind. School for Deaf, Indpls. Arlington, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North. 40. Lebanon (5): Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Lebanon, Rossville, Zionsville. 41. Logansport (6): Cass, Caston, Logansport, Maconaquah, Pioneer, Winamac. 42. Manchester (6): Manchester, Northfield, North Miami, Peru, Wabash, Whitko. 43. Martinsville (4): Martinsville, Monrovia, Mooresville, Plainfield. 44. Mishawaka (5): Mishawaka, Mishawaka Marian, Penn, S.B. Adams, S.B.